After coming second by a single point in 2023 and Champion by a single point in 2024, the 2025 Veterans Cup was always going to be another incredibly tight finish. Both Al Gamble & Ian Macgregor had been ahead of me by a couple of points all season, so I needed to win the final round to have any chance of retaining the trophy. Thankfully, the conditions on the day were tough and I was lucky to find some feeding fish whilst Al & Ian and many others struggled, Naturally, I was both surprised and delighted to retain the trophy, especially amongst such a strong field of experienced competition anglers. The icing on the cake was podium domination by the RAF! I fully expect the 2026 Veterans to be equally close, particularly with so many of our members increasing their skill-sets.

Hopefully my boat-partners will agree that I have always believed that freely sharing knowledge and experience develops unbreakable bonds and I vividly remember those who helped and inspired me along the way.

I believe there are a few key factors which enable anglers to consistency catch more fish and hopefully the pearls of wisdom below will be of benefit in next year’s Veterans Cup.

Preparation

Keep a fishing diary and look back on diary notes to similar timed events from previous years.

Do your homework and try to gather as much information on how the venue has been fishing in the days leading up to match day. Areas/Tactics/Weather forecast/Wind direction/Air & Water Temperature. Social media can help but also build a network of trusted friends. Be aware that asking for information on an upcoming event that you are both fishing in is taboo!

Instead or reverting to default methods, use your practice days to refine techniques that you feel under-confident in. Using dry fly fishing as an example: arrange a day with someone who you feel could help with the fundamentals, (leader set up/spotting fish/degreasing leader/ accuracy of casting/when to strike/how to strike/fly selection etc) The same can be said for Buzzer Fishing, The Bung and Pulling, particularly the Hang. Everyone has their favourite go to method but the most consistent anglers have the ability and experience to adapt to any method, dictated by changing conditions or feeding habits.

Execution

Be prepared to adapt techniques and change areas if your initial plan fails. Staying in an area that produced fish yesterday but isn’t working today is a recipe for disaster! I firmly believe that if my boat partner or I don’t get a fish or offer within 30 minutes, it’s time to move. Using the Lake of Menteith as an example, you can get anywhere in a maximum of 15 minutes and there are areas that always hold fish. Many practice days are spent bouncing around these areas with significant success therefore why not use a similar approach in the Veterans Cup. It’s amazing how quickly you can catch half a dozen trout if you are in the right area!

Finally, fish within your limitations! Ensuring your flies land gently, spaced out and ready to retrieve prevents tangles and invariably leads to more fish in the net. If I had to choose between distance and accuracy/presentation, I’d choose the latter every time.

Prior to an opportune conversation with John Maestri in late 2022, I thought my competitive Trout fishing days were well and truly over. My tackle box was gathering dust in the shed and had only seen the light of day twice since 2013. I had fished competitively since the late 1980s as part of the RAF Fish-Hawks Team until leaving the RAF in 2005, when I following my lifelong dream of becoming a full-time Ghillieon the River Spey. I also joined Orvis Alba Flysfishers in 2006 and quickly found out exactly how costly Competition Fishing cost without the luxury of RAF accommodation and funding! Alba were a cracking team of International Anglers and we had some good results, particularly at Rutland,Winning the Lexus International event in 2011.

I made the decision to change career in 2013 to financially support our children through University. This was a tough decision to make for a variety of reasons, however in retrospect, the correct one. The responsibility of my new job, daily commute to Aberdeen, regular off-shore trips and lengthy journeys from Elgin to Menteith, Rutland, Grafham, Bewl and Chew made my continued commitment to Competitive Fishing impossible, so reluctantly the fly-tying desk was cleared and fishing kit stored.

Magic’s passion around forming a Military Veterans FlyFishing Club came at a perfect time as the kids had graduated and settled into their new careers and I had recently retired. Magic’s enthusiasm was infectious so we (the Committee) spent the winter of 2022-23 planning the way ahead and 2 years later, we are continually tweaking as we go.

Having lost out on the Veteran’s Championship to Graeme Ferguson by a single point in our first year indicated that the Trout were still pretty keen on my flies. More importantly, I quickly recognised how much I had missed the sport and the camaraderie. I quickly reacquainted myself with Menteith and the many old fishing mates I had met over 30 years. The 300 mile round trip is still tiresome, but Magic’s generous offer of accommodation in the luxurious ‘Spitfire Suite’ at his Country Estate has been most welcome.

I was delighted to win the Veterans Cup Championship in 2024, again by a single point with Jock Kettles snapping on my heels! These close results prove the strength in depth within the Veterans Club and I’m sure that Jock Kettles will add his name to the trophy very soon. What made my win even more special was the fact that on every outing of 2024, we had the best boat total, proving that sharing information is the key to success. As a club, the Military Veterans are still in relative infancy, however we are growing exponentially, both in terms of numbers and experience. I certainly learnt some ‘pearls of wisdom’ from all my boat partners last year and equally, I hope that they learnt a few tips from an old man!

I look forward very much to the season ahead and wish you all tight lines.

I have been fly fishing for 34 years and competing in competitions on/off for 27years. Initially I started off on rivers around the city then move into stillwaters and lochstyle disciplines all over Scotland, I then decided to try and make it vocational by attaining a HND in fish farming and fisheries management. It’s always been a constant in my life and always will, I find it just gives me time to relax and hit the reset button on whatever’s happening in life at that time. On leaving the Scots Guards and moving back home to Edinburgh I managed to get a job in the Orvis store and started learning more about teaching casting and fly line characteristics, the tackle industry in general. This is where I met my now good friend Stewart, his company Alba game fishing is an Orvis endorsed guide service and after fishing a couple of times with him, he asked if I wanted to start guiding for him, obviously I bit his arm off and now 10 years down the line and too many guests to count, I still look forward to doing it for many years to come.

Fishing is a leveller, people from all walks of life are there for whatever personal reasons, exchanging stories with people from different walks of life I find fascinating but what it boils down to is enjoyment.

Personally I love river fishing as it takes me back to when I started out and reminiscing of lessons learned from my late great uncle who taught me. Putting all these years of success and more importantly failure into practice to catch a wild fish is the pinnacle in my opinion.

The enjoyment I get from lochstyle is almost equally as good, the banter and camaraderie associated with the veterans team is second to none, inject a little competitive element and you have a day that’s hard to beat.

As a guide I have the privilege and opportunity to get my hands on kit from industry leaders in the hope that clients like the equipment I lent them, so much so that they go to buy it themselves. I am affiliated with Orvis, Fishpond, Farbank(sage,reddington,Rio) and Patagonia.

My most memorable moment on a days fishing was on the Annan about 6 years ago, I had Hooked and snapped off on a big brown trout, few minutes later and once I had given myself a good talking too and replace the fly. I cast into the run again and hooked into another fish, on netting the fish to my delight, noticed on taking the fly out, another fly was in its mouth…. Yes the fly I had just lost ….result.

I have been lucky enough to get to the national final on a couple of occasions however never made the team, this is something I hope to achieve in the near future.

Winning the veterans cup this year was an amazing personal achievement of mine and very proud to have done so in such a strong field of anglers.